The costume designer for the trilogy is Ngila Dickson, whose previous credits include Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, as well as the popular television series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess." Since the movies are set in a fantasy world, costumes will play a large part in the overall look and feel of the films themselves, so a lot of time, money, and effort will go into their production. The costumes will be a blend of Tolkien’s own descriptions where available, patterns influenced by actual historical periods (Renaissance, Viking, medieval, and so forth), and good old fashioned imaginative design. According to E!Online's On Location reporter John Forde, "Dickson's costumes have a notable lack of fussiness and froufrou--just beautiful fabrics, neat tailoring and meticulous attention to detail. 'We've never tried to be fantastical,' she explains. 'Right from the beginning, Peter and Alan [Lee, Tolkien illustrator and LOTR's conceptual designer] wanted the costumes to look as real as possible.'" Several photographs of characters in full production gear have become available, and they can be found in our news archives.

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Undoubtedly, one of the most crucial aspects of bringing Tolkien’s work to life on the screen will be the set design, as location and setting are probably the most finely-detailed points of his work. And from the few glimpses that have been shown to us so far, the work being done for these films is massive, ingenious, and may well prove to be award-worthy in the future. The production designer, an artist responsible for designing the overall visual appearance of the movies, is Grant Major, whose previous credits include Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners. The Art Director, a craftsman who oversees and guides the building of the sets, is Dan Hennah, who was also involved with The Frighteners, and the Set Decoration, which involves decorating the sets with all furnishings (both indoor and outdoor), is being performed by first-timer Tanea Chapman. The amount of detail, imagination, and effort that is being put into the production design for The Lord of the Rings is literally like nothing ever seen before, sure to be a visual treat for both Tolkien fans and regular moviegoers unfamiliar with Tolkien’s world. Be sure to check our news archive for the set pictures that we have acquired so far, and continue to visit TheOneRing.net™, where we will keep you updated with any new information and photos of sets as they become available.

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The battle scenes will be brought to life on an epic scale with the help of a new software program, called MASSIVE, which was developed specifically for The Lord of the Rings films by WETA. While they will not feature intense gore due to the PG-13 rating that Jackson is contractually obligated to deliver, he has promised battles like nothing ever before put on film. He has also indicated that extra battle scenes that are more hardcore may be filmed and then added to the future DVD release. The fighting will be well-choreographed, and the actors and extras have had a great deal of training already from some of the world’s most renowned sword masters, longbow experts, and others. According to Jackson, the crew is "working hard at establishing unique fighting styles for the different races of Middle-earth."

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Jackson’s WETA Workshop has been busy for a long time producing vast quantities of weapons and armor to equip the many extras used during the battle scenes. An authentic foundry is set up at WETA where the weapons and armor are being made exactly the same as they would have been formed hundreds of years ago, with steel that is heated and then beaten and molded on anvils. Other famous craftsmen from around the world have been enlisted to help in the production of authentic-looking weaponry and armor; for example, the chainmail was produced by a specialist in India. Recent photos show that the Gondorian soldiers are outfitted with shields and armor that contain the White Tree insignia.

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